Filed under: FIFA, International Soccer, US Soccer | Tags: Jamaica, US Soccer, World Cup Qualifier
The Jamaica Home/Away roadtrip is underway! Yesterday, I watched my husband referee Minnesota Soccer’s win over Western Kentucky, and today, we fly to Montego Bay for the away leg of the qualifier. We’re off to a great start.
Our airport shuttle driver was Mexican, and was as excited as we were to talk CONCACAF soccer, even though I opened the conversation with “Didya see the US vs Mexico game in August?” He liked my rendition of Mexican beer ads in Spanish, and I think was impressed that a couple Americans were so familiar with the history of the biggest rivalry in CONCACAF.
We arrived at the airport in our USMNT jerseys, Doug’s vintage 2002, and mine the current Where’s Waldo? We were through O’Hare security in record speed when a guy in business attire stopped me and said “Nice jersey, are you coming from or going to a game?” I’ve never been stopped by an average American who knew 1. What a US Soccer jersey looked like and 2. Their playing schedule. You’ve come a long way, America, and you’re making me proud. Just think, my kids could grow up in a world where soccer fans aren’t the lowest form of American sports fan….
Next stop: Jamaica, for cliff diving, Blue Mountain coffee, rum, a reprise of our 1995 honeymoon, and hopefully, an excellent soccer game.
Since 1994, I’ve counted my life in four year increments. In some ways, everything in my life is planned around the ebb and flow of the World Cup schedule. The qualifying build up, the anticipation of ticketing phases, the glorious tournament, and then the two years of darkness, when we have nothing but Gold Cup, friendlies, and Olympics (or not) to enjoy with our National Teams. So it’s pretty difficult to contain my excitement with the soccer on tap today.
As my friend Monty posted on Facebook this morning, “There are some great days that bring excitement each and every year. Then there are days like today that only happen once every four years … the first day of qualifying for the (2014) World Cup in Brazil starts today.” For people like us, the wait for “games that count” is over. The USMNT Road to Brasil starts tonight here in Tampa with our game vs. Antigua and Barbuda. It doesn’t really matter to me that this should be an easy game for the US, and we’re probably going to get soaked in the rain tonight…just so long as the wait is over.
As if that’s not enough, today also kicks off Euro 2012, with the host Poland playing Greece in Warsaw, which means a month of excellent European soccer. It’s a tournament second only to the World Cup in excitement….as I’m writing this, it’s 10v10, missed PK, tied game….it does not suck.
And who better to spend it with than my soccer family? I am staying with Andy Gustafson, one of the guys I met in Korea 10 years ago. Also with us is Jon Strauss, another World Cup traveler, and meeting us later, Rishi Bagel, who not only hits the World Cups, but joined us at Azteca for the game in 2005. For me, this is like a family reunion all wrapped up in soccer. It’s going to be a beautiful weekend, no matter what the weather.
A ripple went through the soccer world this week, as we passed the 10th anniversary of the US vs Portugal game in the 2002 World Cup. I smiled every time I read a “10 years ago I was….” post on facebook or Twitter, and I teared up watching babyfaced Landon Donovan in his disbelief scoring on the powerhouse on Portugal. As I thought about my “10 years ago today…” I got a little nostalgic.
Ten years ago, I was five months pregnant, with my darling girl, Aviva. I had taken the long flight to Korea with my husband, trying to keep my ankles from swelling on our way to our second foreign World Cup. We knew a few people from Iowa that would be in Korea, and we had met a few people through the “Yanks in Korea” Yahoo group (remember those days?) but otherwise, we were on our own. We headed out to the bar where Americans were meeting up, and came across many of the people that we continue to travel with to this day. It was like another world from where we are today. I had no idea the potential that US Soccer would display at that World Cup, and had no idea the bonds we would forge that day would lead to lifelong friendships with so many people.
US v Portugal would be my first time taking my daughter to a USMNT match (we called her’s “obstructed view seats”) and would start a lifetime of taking my kids into the supporters section. I remember her doing what felt like a full 360 spin when we hit the “wall of sound” that was the Koreans chanting in unison at the US vs Korea game. I remember cradling my belly at the US vs Poland game when it looked like we were headed home, all our work in the previous two matches for nothing.
I realize now, ten years later that there will never be another World Cup like that for me, where the unknown wonder of what was to come for our family and the team I love was so full and bright. I have loved every time I’ve brought my kids to games, but I find it hard to imagine a World Cup so far exceeding my expectation, now that the bar has been raised so high. It was a great experience to see the Germany Weltmeister through my then 3-1/2 year old’s eyes, and to travel South Africa with so many good friends was fantastic, but ten years ago, I was that pregnant girl in Korea, and I had the time of my life.
***If you want to read more about our trip to Korea and you can’t wait until I finish the book I’m writing about our travels, pick up a copy of Andy Gustafson’s “23 Days in Korea.” He is one of the people we met at that first game, and tells a great story of his trip, albeit misspelling my name and totally misrepresenting how that cab WAS mine! It is otherwise a great read. You can buy it here.
Clint Dempsey, US Soccer Superhero in flight. (from his Facebook page)
I admit it. I’ve been busy. Between parenting 2 kids, beginning the restoration of our “new” 125 year old house (you can read about that at the Hatton House blog here), and trying to steal time to write and paint, I’ve been running around. So as the rest of AO Des Moines bailed one by one from our US vs Italy watch party at Victor’s Sports Bar, I prepared to bail also and maybe watch from home. I really wasn’t in the mood to watch a game in a bar that was empty, save me and the kids. What’s the point?
Imagine my surprise when I picked them up from school and my nine year old asked if we were going directly to the bar for the game. Wait…you WANT to go to the bar? Yeah, of course Mom. Look at that…my children are supporters, die hard, official supporters. We all talk about the proverbs that our kids will keep us young and be our legacy, but the truth is, this is the first moment when I realized the real truth behind all those trite little sayings. Here are my children, excited about going to watch a game at a bar, in the middle of the afternoon with just me. Fantastic.
Now, I could pretend that this fairy tale ends with my kids being riveted to the game and asking insightful questions about the gelling of the Klinsmann era team, and how Dempsey and Altidore are exceeding our expectations as they make the transition from good players to history-making great players. I might feign that they were frustrated by our back line and apprehensive about what happens to our defense if , G-d forbid, Tim Howard ever ceases to be available at the top of his game. Wouldn’t it be great if they sat there discussing the cautionary tale of Giuseppe Rossi, and how you should never underestimate the potential for growth in this US Soccer?
But they didn’t. They were kids. They snacked on their food, pretended to play video games (no, you can’t have any quarters, the game’s on!), asked me how long until it was over, and generally behaved like the 4-1/2 and 9 year olds that they are.
But then, at the end of the game, when I was too excited that we might finally beat Italy, and friendly or not, beat them at home. I couldn’t even sit down, and didn’t really care that my roller coaster of play-by-play squeaks and squeals must have sounded insane to the handful of people at Victor’s not for the soccer game. But my children noticed, and came close and watched. I told them that we’d never beaten Italy before, and told them about the times I’ve watched us play Italy, and that this was a really amazing moment for us in the soccer world. We stood there, through all four minutes of extra time, me standing with them clutching me from their perch standing on chairs, until finally the game ended with the US victorious and we could shout and create havoc in our little corner of the bar. I think, when I look back over my encyclopedia of US Soccer experiences, I will remember that moment. My kids and I, practically alone in a bar, watching the US beat Italy for the first time ever.
When we got home last night, and my husband asked the kids about their day over dinner, my daughter proudly told the story about watching that soccer game, and I could tell that she got it, even if George Vecsey couldn’t. It was an epic win for the US. And my kids made sure I didn’t miss it, and for that, I’m so thankful.
Let me preface by saying that I did NOT want to come to Slovenia. There was a rumor that the US would play Germany on this date, and I was all about going to Germany: I have friends there, I speak the language, and I love watching Germany play almost as much as I enjoy watching the US. So when Slovenia was announce, I was pretty upset. I almost decided against making the trip entirely: I don’t speak Slovenian, I’d only heard of the country because they were in our group in the 2010 World Cup, and who knew how they felt about that experience. But after grumbling for a few days, and realizing that I could still see my German family friends after Slovenia, I decided to continue with my dream trip of Eurotour 2011 planning.
I arrived at 2 AM on game day, and felt lucky to find a pizza stand open who called a taxi to my hotel for me. I checked in and slept until 15 minutes before breakfast closed. I spent the mid day checking out the city of Ljubljana with two other American fans, and headed to the stadium bar around 3:30. Our first stop in the stadium neighborhood was to pick up tickets. I’ve been to enough games to know that if you haven’t seen a bunch of Americans walking around, we’re probably going to be a small crowd at the game, but I had no idea how small our contingent was until we got the the visitors ticket booth. I walked up, and as I was fishing my passport out of my back pocket to show ID to pick up will call, I said “Hi, my name’s Tanya.” And before I could get my passport out, she handed me an envelope with my name on it. When you can get tickets with a first name and no ID, it’s going to be a VERY small crowd.
We headed to the All Star Bar, and on the way, found the Slovenia Supporters selling scarves which I had to buy, and fell in love with when I saw the top read “Majhna in ponosna – little and proud.” How could I not fall in love with Slovenia? I talked with the guy selling them, who turned out to be a leader of the supporters for Slovenia. We had a good time chatting, and as I was leaving, he gave me a really nice Slovenian flag. All I can say is “you had me at “majhna in ponosna.”
We had five Americans at the All Star Bar, and several Slovenians that looked confused to find us there. The stadiums in Europe are all alcohol free (yeah…take a moment to let that sink in, AO nation) and it was unbelievably cold and damp, so I quickly switched from cold beer to Kuhalo Vino, a hot spiced wine that was going down real easy. We compared notes on travel, and came up with my favorite phrase of the night. When people speaking foreign languages without the listener understanding, the listener just nods and says, “What you say is very interesting.” It was a well used phrase for the night.
We headed to the stadium, wondering if our section would even fill a row. Would they have riot gear cops around a single row? If 7000 Slovenians got pissed, exactly what were we going to do about it? When we got to our seats, we were about 2/3 the way up the lower deck, almost in the corner.I was happy to see several serious looking riot geared up police behind our section. We got the AO Des Moines banner hung in our corner, and then went down to the front row of where the US boys were warming up. We were SO close to the field, it was really great. The intimacy of a women’s game, but with the men’s team. It reminded me of the old days, when you could run into players anywhere, before anyone knew about soccer in the US. We realized that it was minutes before the walk out, and no one had kicked us out yet. I ran up to the old seats and grabbed our stuff, updating the only other Americans (a couple from Austria) that we were permanently relocating and they were welcome to join us.
I’ve never been prouder to belt out our national anthem than I was at that game. It was so patriotic to be there, with my four new friends, cheering on our boys. And when we scored, what seemed like immediately, it took a moment to realize that, although the stadium was pin-drop silent, we had scored! We went nuts, and there was the deafening roar of five people cheering. It was completely unreal and fantastic all at once. The field was veiled in fog, so thick that we couldn’t see the far side benches from our front row vantage point. It was an amazing night, on an amazing field, with a great host. The Slovenians got some chants going, and they had a great coordinated fan group in the end zone. Their supporters got call and respond chants going with the other fans in the stadium, and created a great atmosphere. They were great sports being down or tied, and were great sports shaking hands with us post game leaving the stadium and back at the bar.
Of course I’m glad that the US is playing better, and happy that the Klinsman plan seems to be coming together (I told you all to stop worrying). I was glad to catch Boca’s 100th cap… I remember when he was a new guy on the team… they grow up so fast! But there’s something really special about going to the “rare” games. I like being part of the tiny little group of supporters, cheering against all odds. I love all US Soccer matches, but I will always have a special (WARM, finally) place in my heart for Slovenia.
Filed under: International Soccer, Supporter Culture, Uncategorized, US Soccer | Tags: Friendly, Paris, USMNT
My trip in Paris has been really lovely, but I’m typically pretty incognito as an American in Europe. Most Europeans assume that all Americans have long hair, and I speak enough French and plenty of German, which is not typical, so I was surprised to see how my interaction with Parisians took a nose dive once I was in my USA gear for the game. Then after the game, on the Metro back to my hotel, still face-painted and decked out, but in good spirits, the drunk French boys were a little ridiculous.
Four of us Americans stopped for food next to the stadium to let the Metro traffic die down, and around the stadium, the French were pretty nice. People shook hands, took photos with us, it was relatively friendly. Jason, a supporter from New York, and I took the Metro most of the way home together. When I left him, I had a transfer and one stop til I was back at my stop, “La Fouche” (my new favorite word to say in French). I beat the gate closed for the second time (is there anything as exhilarating as making the last train with only minutes to spare?) But then I was trapped on the platform, waiting for the last train, with a bunch of drunk French kids who hadn’t bothered to go to the game, but felt they knew enough to be obnoxious with me.
Here’s a lesson kids, even in a foreign language, it’s tough to out insult me. So here’s my guide for dealing with drunken, obnoxious French fans:
1, Be friendly. I think it was Jason that initially said “When we travel, we let the away team have one goal, to be a good guest.” Most people laughed and shook our hands. But a few were determined to changed my mind back to the belief that French people are really just a bunch of d bags.
2. When the comeback is “Yeah, but you still lost.” My next comeback was “You didn’t even go to the game, and I had a great night there. It was a good game.” Which they’re supposed to see as, dude, it’s just a friendly, lighten up.
3. But some didn’t, and to those, you must start speaking English very quickly, although still with a nice tone “Look, you won by one point in a friendly, big effin deal. I’m an American, you think I’ve never been to a loss before, get over yourself.” You can rattle on here as long as you want, but as you walk away, slow down your English a little and say “Hey, in the 2010 Coupe du Monde (World Cup in French…and you must use French just there), where were you guys in the 2nd round? (You can hold up 2 fingers, just to make sure they get it). Granted, I didn’t have a huge sample set, but that wiped the smile off 100% of drunk French boy faces. Except the one guy, who was particularly amused watching me fend off one particularly drunk fan. As the drunk fan stumbled away with his sad face on, I caught him smirking, and asked if he spoke English. He said yes, and we just smiled and laughed about the whole “drunk guy getting hauled off by his girlfriend” scene. All in all, it was a great night in Paris.
One more day here, then it’s the night train to Florence for 2 days there. I speak zero Italian. Should be interesting….
Filed under: International Soccer, Supporter Culture, US Soccer | Tags: Friendly, Paris, USMNT
It’s been a busy summer at our house. I closed my store, moved our house, and it was generally chaos around every corner. So I took some time off from this blog, (except for that stadium policy thing…that needed to be said.) but I’ve decided to make a comeback in style.
I’m in Paris for the USMNT friendly vs France, and then headed to Slovenia for that game. These are my first two away friendlies, and I’m very excited to be here…too excited…plus the jet lag is not helping my sleep situation. All I can say so far is every French person I’ve talked to is surprised that Americans are here, (and 1500 strong, according to US Soccer). My favorite response so far to the why are you here answer: “But you’re a woman.” I thought of making a joke that I was aware of that, but let it slide because it was delivered with such a great French accent. French accents make just about everything sound better. Have a French person say “Kentucky”. It’s almost sophisticated.
But I digress. Paris has been great today, although there seems to be a low level of game promotion going on. If you’re here in Paris with me, please join me at the American Outlaws meetup before the game. Details can be found here: http://www.theamericanoutlaws.com/events/us-vs-france-111111
See you all tomorrow, or later today Europe time!
Filed under: Family Fun, Supporter Culture, Uncategorized, US Soccer | Tags: Stadium Language, Tifo, US Soccer, USMNT
An email went out to the American Outlaws nation yesterday, telling us that US Soccer wants to promote a “classy reputation” by not having profanity in the Supporters Section. The “You Suck A**hole” chant at the US vs Mexico game in Philadelphia was cited as the reason for why we, the supporters, are being punished by losing our privilege of hanging banners for the game tomorrow.
I’m a mother and a supporter. I bring my children to games, including the game in Philadelphia. My views on language in the supporters section are well established and outlined here, but let me add that I was far more concerned that stadium security was not dealing with drunkenness that was escalating to violence within and between supporters sections than I was about explaining to my children that certain words are only appropriate in certain situations.
While cursing in the supporters section doesn’t bother me, I can understand why US Soccer would want to cut it off. There has been an increase in cursing, and while I’m not offended, I do miss the days when our (as supporters in general, American Outlaws, Sam’s Army, whoever you stand with) chants were stunning for their creativity than cursing. It strikes me that this is a parent-child relationship gone bad. US Soccer birthed a new movement of passionate supporters, American Outlaws, and their child is growing up faster than they perhaps expected, and they’re getting difficult to control. American Outlaws doesn’t want to be the kid with a bunch of rules anymore (children rarely respond well to punishment without clear warning), and (at least some of them) don’t take kindly to being told to limit their free speech rights. So here’s my attempt at mediation in this relationship:
To US Soccer,
As a USSF referee, we’re taught to be careful the promises we make in a game, and the punishment must fit the crime. By taking away the supporters right to hang banners, you’re punishing people who aren’t the problem. My children take extreme pride in carrying the American Outlaws Des Moines banner and stadium flag and seeing it in the stadium. That is a huge part of how they support the US. They were devastated when we couldn’t hang banners in Philly, and panicked that we might not be able to carry in the stadium flag. Don’t take away the creativity of your supporters as punishment for those who show no creativity and think supporting is as simple as chanting YSA and flipping off the other team.
By all means, let’s work together to get the cursing out of the section. A directive that anyone chanting YSA will be immediately ejected would be a fitting punishment. That may seem like a giant undertaking, but we all know you don’t have to caution the entire wall to respect 10 yards, just the first brick in it. Let’s get more educated stadium personnel, who feel empowered to remove the people who are causing problems so that the supporters section is still raucous and fun, without becoming dangerous or alienating the rest of your growing fan base.
PS I also reffed Latino league. Let’s not pretend that there’s far more bad language in English than Spanish. I think we’d all feel better if we did better than “those aren’t our fans”. Deal with all of it or none of it, please.
To the Supporters,
I’m with you. When I read that email yesterday, I was furious. But after sleeping on it, US Soccer has a point. Do we really need to curse in every chant? Would “Mental” be any less inspiring to the team if we went “freaking mental”? The American Outlaws mission statement is “To support the United States National Soccer Team through a unified and dedicated group of supporters.” So while US Soccer is not in charge of any of us, are we really supporting them if we’re specifically doing what they ask us to refrain from doing? We can do better. Don’t get angry, get creative. Show them that we are more than cursing. It would make my day if those going to the game tomorrow found some funny, even sarcastic, curse free replacement for YSA. I know there’s someone out there with something very funny and ironic to say. Let’s get that person some paint and bed sheets, ASAP.
Ultimately, we could fight and be pissed off, but what good will that do for us? You can have all the free speech you want, but in a private event, it won’t be you far. Ultimately, US Soccer can make all our lives pretty miserable, but it would be directly against our mission to drive them to it.
To everyone:
We’re all on the same side here. We want to grow US Soccer and having games with great atmosphere will make that happen. This is one of those aggravating “you’ll charm more bees with honey than vinegar. We can both do better in working together to create that atmosphere.
Filed under: Family Fun, International Soccer, US Soccer | Tags: Klinsman, Mexico, USMNT
I’m way behind on this blog. Sorry. I have lots to say about the Women’s World Cup and so much more, but I’ve been busy closing my store and traveling with my kids, this summer kinda got away from me.
So let me say this: KLLLLIIINNNSMMMAAAANNN! Oh how I’ve waited for this day. I love German soccer, and started my love of US Soccer through a series of US vs Germany games. I wanted to have Jürgen Klinsman as our coach for years. I was hoping he’d be picked in the last hiring round, and I’ve definitely wanted us to hire him since 2010. And there is a bit of me pinching myself, not believing my dream has finally come true.
As luck would have it, I get to go to his coaching debut with my kids, thanks to winning the Golazo Scavenger Hunt at the American Outlaws Rally! My daughter is now 8-3/4, old enough to be pissed when I don’t take her to games. My son is 4, funny and charming enough that I want to bring him just to see what he’ll do.
So here we go! I feel like it’s the night before my 1st date with the dreamy senior I’ve been wanting to date since freshman year, and I’m super nervous that he’ll show up and not be the catch I thought he was. I really think Klinsy’s dateable material….and somehow, I will find a way to get some sleep tonight. But for now, it’s just Mexico and kids and Klinsman….oh my!
Soccer....Family Style 